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Olson joins Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum as Exhibitions Specialist

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum has recently welcomed Lee Olson as Exhibitions Specialist. Olson has recently relocated from Rock Hall to St. Michaels, Md. to take up the position.

Lee Olson of Rock Hall, Md., recently joined the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md., as its new exhibitions specialist
Lee Olson of Rock Hall, Md., recently joined the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md., as its new exhibitions specialist
As part of CBMM’s preservation and interpretation department, Olson works with CBMM curators to design and develop interactive and engaging exhibitions to capture the history, environment, and traditions of the entire Chesapeake Bay region.

Olson, a native of rural Minnesota, received his BFA from Minneapolis College of Art & Design, tailoring his own history-focused interdisciplinary studies major to design and build his very first wooden Viking boat, by eye. He has exhibited his oil paintings and boats as a fine artist all over the Midwest in galleries and at cultural festivals.

As well as travelling to and studying at many historical sites in Iceland, Sweden, Slovakia, Spain, and New Zealand, Olson has completed a four-week summer field class of Archaeology at the Frojel Discovery Program of Gotland University, Sweden.

Olson’s experience includes work as an exhibits department fabricator for the Minnesota Historical Society’s History Center of St. Paul, sales of architectural specialties, building and restoration, and wooden boat repair.

Lee was drawn to Maryland’s Eastern Shore from Minnesota with the on-line purchase of a 45 ft. wooden schooner project, the Class C tall ship Resolution, which landed him in Chestertown in 2004. Since arriving, he has immersed himself in his work and sailing, including crewing in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race.

“I am looking forward to a fascinating future in terms of helping bring together new exhibitions while building on our existing ones,” says Olson. “I’m thrilled to be back in exhibits work and meeting new people, and I feel honored to be working among CBMM’s very talented staff.”

Established in 1965, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a world-class maritime museum dedicated to preserving and exploring the history, environment, and people of the entire Chesapeake Bay, with the values of relevancy, authenticity, and stewardship guiding its mission. Serving more than 70,000 guests each year, CBMM’s campus includes a floating fleet of historic boats and 12 exhibition buildings, situated in a park-like, waterfront setting along the Miles River and St Michaels harbor.

From now through 2018, CBMM guests can watch the progress on the log-hull restoration of the 1889 bugeye Edna E. Lockwood, with more information about the project at ednalockwood.org. For more information about CBMM, visit cbmm.org